The Capital Cascades Trail project is designed to provide a multi-faceted, multi-use stormwater and recreation facility and connected trail network. It is separated into physically distinct segments stretching across 4.25 miles of downtown Tallahassee. Please direct questions to Dan Scheer at Daniel.Scheer@BlueprintIA.org.
Recreation and Resilience on the Capital Cascades Trail
These segments are:
Franklin Boulevard, from West Tennessee Street to Lafayette Street, mitigates flooding along the roadway with a continuous 8-by-12-foot underground box culvert, replacing the open ditch water conveyance. The project also reconstructed the road to a two-lane facility; improved intersections; and added sidewalks, a multi-use trail, lighting, lush landscaping, benches and water fountains. It was completed in 2014.
Cascades Park, a 25-acre park extending south from Franklin Boulevard, was built on a remediated brownfield site. This was key to creating the park and opening the area for redevelopment.
Park amenities include a state prime meridian marker plaza; an outdoor amphitheater with seating for over 3000 people; an interactive fountain with choreographed lights and music; the Discovery play area for children; miles of walking trails; green space for recreation; and countless historic commemorations and monuments, including the Smokey Hollow commemoration. The park was completed in 2015.
Read MoreCapital Cascades Trail Crossing and Pedestrian Bridge provide connection between Cascades Park and Capital Cascades Trail to the west. This segment of Cascades Trail begins at South Gadsden Street, crosses over South Monroe Street and ends at Adams Street.
Designed by FIGG, a renowned international bridge-design firm in Tallahassee, the modern concrete bridge with organic shaping is based on a theme of canopies and incorporates an eco-friendly design. The bridge features dramatic, color-changing LED lights that reflect off the canopies. The adjustable, nighttime lighting features local-university colors on game days and seasonal colors throughout the year.
Read MoreThis segment, often referred to as the FAMU Way Corridor, creates a new east-west roadway from South Monroe Street to Lake Bradford Road, a distance of approximately 1.5 miles. The corridor also provides increased connectivity to the burgeoning Gaines Street and College Town districts, creating a link between FAMU and Florida State University.
Project Snapshot – Capital Cascades Trail Segment 3
Planned Amenities:
History and Culture Trail: The project will focus on honoring stories of adjacent resilient neighborhoods, civil-rights advocates and economic engines. It will highlight the culture of these communities and their stories through artistic cultural and historical interpretations. Interpretive history kiosks will display images, photographs, and historic information about the neighborhoods, businesses, and people living and working in the area surrounding the Capital Cascades Trail Segment 3 and FAMU Way projects. Through a partnership with the Council on Culture and Art (COCA), artistic installations are planned to complement the educational kiosks.
Project Snapshot – History and Culture Trail Snapshot
Coal Chute Pond Amenities: Improvements will include a multi-use trail around the perimeter of the pond, lighting, seating, landscaping, and irrigation, and a drinking fountain. Blueprint has partnered with Knight Creative Communities Institute’s (KCCI) Red Hills Rhythm Project to bring musical-play features to this new community space. There will be an informal performance space with an entrance to Railroad Square as well.
The grand opening was held in June 2022.
Project Snapshot – Capital Cascades Trail Segment 3 Coal Chute Pond
Skateable Art: The FAMU Way Skateable Art Project will embrace artistic elements to provide an optimal riding experience for park users and also provide a visually stimulating space for spectators. It includes a larger-than-life centerpiece, a rattlesnake that pays homage to the FAMU Rattlers. While the overall park is approximately 540 feet long, the snake run feature stretches roughly 225 feet, making it the longest snake run in Florida. The grand opening was held in June 2022.
Project Snapshot – Capital Cascades Trail Segment 3 Skateable Art
Restroom Facility at FAMU Way Playground: The new restroom facility will feature two family restroom stalls near the existing playground and Railroad Square, on the north side of FAMU Way.
St. Marks Trailhead: Located at the Regional Stormwater Facility, the Trailhead will connect the Cascades Trail and St. Marks Historic Rail Trail and will feature on-site parking spaces. The design will feature an open and well-lit trailhead including amenities such as a water-bottle filling station, bike-repair station and drinking fountain.
Community Gathering Space at 3D-B Pond
This new public space overlooks 3D-B Pond, which is a stormwater facility. The stormwater project includes a Duperon FlexRake system.
The Duperon FlexRake is part of the innovative stormwater treatment facility and is a mechanical screen system that helps keep trash from entering the central drainage ditch. The FlexRake is installed at the 3D-B Pnod in the box-culvert drainage system the conveys stormwater from the St. Augustine Branch, including flows from upstream of the Capital Cascades Trail. As litter flows with stormwater through the box culvert underneath FAMU Way, it will get caught in the bars of the large rake and pulled out of the stormwater system and into a waste dumpster. The treated stormwater will be discharged into the Central Drainage Ditch that flows to Lake Henrietta.
The Central Drainage Ditch is a stormwater conveyance system that carries site water runoff south from a large part of central Tallahassee including downtown, Frenchtown, and the main FSU campus. The system transitions into the Munson Slough and ultimately to Lake Munson, no longer an FDEP impaired waterbody that is directly connected to the Floridian aquifer and several springs, including Wakulla Springs.
Learn more about the Duperon FlexRake here.
Construction completed in Q2 2023
Segment 4 will begin at the convergence of the Central Drainage Ditch and St. Augustine Branch and will extend at the confluence of the Central Drainage Ditch and Munson Slough
Segment 4 will continue the trail and stormwater elements of the CCT south along the Central Drainage Ditch. The goal is to provide significant stormwater-treatment and flood-control improvements south of Orange Avenue downstream of the St. Augustine Branch. The project also will provide greenway links to commercial and residential areas and a variety of amenities and multimodal options for the southside urban areas of Tallahassee.
The Project will include stormwater improvements to enhance water quality in Lake Henrietta and Munson Slough, addressing specific issues of concern including sediment loads and trash accumulation at Lake Henrietta.
Project Snapshot – Capital Cascades Trail Segment 4
